OCEANSIDE  For Oceanside residents pestered by incessant barking from a neighbor’s dog, there is little way to find relief short of taking the owners to court, a solution seldom used and of little consolation in the middle of the night.

In question is whether barking dogs are the responsibility of the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, which contracts with Oceanside for animal services, city code enforcement officers or Oceanside police. Regardless of whose job it is, residents have been lobbying city leaders for a solution.

Mayor Jim Wood brought before the City Council last week a request for city administrators to look into options to deal with the canine racket before neighbors take matters into their own hands.

“Neighbors tend to take actions on their own because nobody at the city will respond,” Wood said. “I’ve gotten a lot of calls on this. I’m afraid it’s going to turn into a deadly confrontation of neighbors someday.”

Wood said he felt the Humane Society should handle the matter, and its unwillingness to respond to barking dogs will be a factor when its contract is up for renewal. The contract is set to expire June 30, 2012.

“The Humane Society won’t respond to these (calls) and it’s not a priority for the Police Department,” Wood said. “We don’t seem to be able to force the Humane Society to do the job I think they’re supposed to do.”

The Humane Society says it is a noise issue rather than an animal field or welfare issue, and is therefore not its responsibility.

“Under our contract with the city of Oceanside we are responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of animal cruelty and neglect, enforcement of animal cruelty laws, stray animals running at large, responding to animal bites and providing shelter services,” the organization said in a statement. “It would not be a cost efficient or appropriate use of funds for the San Diego Humane Society to respond to noise complaints.”

In San Marcos, Escondido and Poway, the Escondido Humane Society handles barking dog complaints, notifying owners of the complaint and offering tips for mediation or keeping the dog quiet. The ultimate remedy in those cities still lies with the courts.

The City Council at the Nov. 9 meeting floated possible fixes, such as adding a code enforcement officer or creating an anonymous hotline that would warn owners of barking dogs that complaints had been received regarding their animal.

“Any solution we come up with is going to cost money,” said City Manager Peter Weiss.

That’s a tall order in the cash strapped city, which to close a $3.6 million shortfall for the current budget year laid off employees at libraries, community centers and senior centers and closed city facilities, such as the Marshall Street pool and the San Luis Rey Valley Resource Center. City leaders have in recent months held workshops to discuss financial matters, such as coping with projected deficits for years to come.

City Attorney John Mullen said that in the meantime Oceanside residents can fill out a private-party citation and have a police officer sign off on it.

The City Council rarely votes unanimously on anything but routine matters, but supported looking into the barking problem 5-0.

“I do know there are incidences where certainly tempers can flare,” said Councilman Gary Felien. “There should be some way for a resolution.”

The matter will be brought before the City Council at a future meeting, where the council will decide how or whether to deal with barking dogs.